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Museum of Flight Restoration Center & Reserve Collection

You can step back in time to see vintage aircraft from the late 1920s to the 1960s, including the very first Boeing 727. An army of volunteers are busily restoring engines and repainting bodies, which may one day go on display at the Museum of Flight in Seattle. The center has 25 aircraft and up to six projects underway at a time.

Every aircraft that is brought to the 23,000-square-foot facility undergoes a thorough evaluation in order to determine the nature of the work needed. A restoration team is then assembled and work begins. About fifty volunteers are working on between three and five projects at any given time.

Imagine a big garage packed full of airplanes in all states of restoration and looming over it all is the nose of a de Havilland DH.106 4C Comet poking through the specially modified hanger doors. Hammers are banging and power tools are going as the volunteer crew works hard to refurbish aircraft to original standards.

Visitors are welcome to the Restoration Center but should keep in mind that it is a working hanger. Guests can walk around the aircraft and talk to the volunteers but should take care to keep safety in mind and children should be closely monitored.